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If you are preparing for UPSC exams, you need to put in a lot of dedication and hard work apart from strategic planning. Choosing the right books and the right strategy for your preparation can easily make you score well even without coaching. First of all have a good understanding of the exam. Check SuccessLynk for syllabus, exam pattern, important dates, updates and much more.
The following books are useful for your exams. You can get these books in Amazon or Flipkart where you’ll also get more details. You need not actually buy all of them. Make use of a library. Go for the latest edition.
Reference books for Prelims
- NCERT Books (Set of 40)for UPSC Exam.
- Oxford Student Atlas
- Manorama Yearbook
- Pratiyogita Darpan Panorama Year Book
- Yojana Magazine
- Kurukshetra Magazine
- India Year Book (IYB)
- Economic Survey 2016-17 by Ministry of Finance Government of India
- General Studies for Civil Services Preliminary Examination Paper – II, M. H. E
- CSAT Manual
- Science & Technology by Ashok Singh
- Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
- Certificate Physical and Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
- Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R S Aggarwal
- Logical Reasoning, Analytical Ability and General Mental Ability for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (CSAT) – Paper 2 by Sanjeev Joon, R.A. Sharma
- History of the Modern World by Jain, Mathur
- Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains and Other Competitive Examinations by D R Khullar, J A C S Rao
Some of the above books and magazines can be used for both Prelims and Mains.
Reference books for Mains
- Social Problems In India by Ram Ahuja
- ESSAYS for Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations by Pulkit Khare
- Selected Contemporary Essays by Saumitra Mohan
- Pax Indica by Shashi Tharoor
- Governance in India by M. Laxmikanth
- IAS Mains Chapter-wise Solved Papers General Studies by Siddharth Mittal
- Ethics Integrity & Aptitude by Arihant Experts
- India’s National Security: A Reader (Critical Issues in Indian Politics) by Kanti P. Bajpai, Harsh V. Pant
- India and the World: Through the Eyes of Indian Diplomats by Surendra Kumar
The NCERT books can be downloaded from the web. The list is:
- NCERT Science for Classes 6 -10
- NCERT Our Past for History for Classes 6 & 7
- NCERT Our Past III part I & 2 for History for Class 8
- NCERT India & Contemporary World for History for Classes 9 & 10
- NCERT Themes In Indian History Part I, Part 2 and Part 3 for Class 12
- NCERT The Earth Our Habitat for Geography for Classes 6 & 7
- NCERT Resources & Development for Geography for Class 8
- NCERT Contemporary India for Geography for Classes 9 & 10
- NCERT Fundamental of Physical Geography for Class 11
- NCERT Fundamentals of Human Geography for Class 12
- NCERT Economics for Class 9
- NCERT Understanding Economic Development for Economics for Class 10
- NCERT Statistics for Economics for Class 11
- NCERT Indian Economic Development for Class 11
- NCERT Sociology Part I for Class 11
- NCERT Indian Constitution at Work for Class 11
- NCERT Themes of World History for Class 11
- NCERT Microeconomics for Class 12
- NCERT Social and political life for Classes 6, 7 & 8
- NCERT Democratic Politics for Classes 9 & 10
- NCERT Political theory class 11th
- NCERT Contemporary World Politics Class 12
- NCERT Politics in India since Independence for Class 12
- NCERT Social Change & Development Class 12
- NCERT Indian Society – Sociology for Class 12
Apart from these books, the UPSC aspiring candidate has to refer the daily newspapers and news magazines. As a daily practice, you need to read newspapers and note the points.
Books for Optionals
Sociology:
- Sociology: Themes and Perspectives by Haralambos
- Indian Sociological Thought by Nagla B K
- Social Background of Indian Nationalism by A.R. Desai
- Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) magazine
- NCERT books on sociology
Public Administration:
- Public Administration by M Laxmikanth
- Administrative Theories and Management Thought by Sapru R.K
- A Dictionary of Public Administration by Maheshwari S.R.
- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) materials
- Indian Journal of Public Administration (IJPA) articles
- American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) articles
- Public Administration Review articles
History:
- A New Look at Modern Indian History: From 1707 to the Modern Times by B.L. Grover & Alka Mehta
- Modern Indian History by V. D. Mahajan
- Penguin History of Early India : From the Origins to AD 1300 by Romila Thapar
- The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848 by Eric Hobsbawm
- The Age of Capital: 1848-1875 by Eric Hobsbawm
- The Age of Empire: 1875-1914 by Eric Hobsbawm
Geography:
- Physical Geography Made Simple by Richard H Bryant
- Human Geography by Majid Husain
- India a Comprehensive Geography by Khullar D.R.
- Environmental Geography by HM Saxena
- Oxford School Atlas
Economics:
- Indian Economy by Gaurav Datt, Ashwani Mahajan
- Advanced Economic Theory by H.L. Ahuja
- Modern Microeconomics by A. Koutsoyiannis
- Microeconomics by Robert Pindyck, Daniel Rubinfeld
- Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy Paperback by D N Dwivedi
- International Economics: Trade and Finance by Dominick Salvatore
- Public Finance by H.L. Bhatia
- Economics of Environment by Subhashini Muthukrishnan
- Magazines: Yojana, Kurukshetra, Economy at a glance
- NCERT Books on Economics
- India Year Book
- IGNOU materials
- Business and financial newspapers, EPW articles etc.
Philosophy:
- An Introduction to Indian Philosophy by Satischandra Chatterjee
- Introduction to Religious Philosophy by Masih Y
- Social And Political Philosophy by Gauba O P
- A Critical History of Western Philosophy: (Greek, Medieval and Modern) by Y. Masih
- Philosophy IAS Mains Q & A by N. N. Ojha and Chronicle Publications Pvt Ltd
Psychology:
- Introduction To Psychology by Fernald, L Dodge
- Psychology by Baron/Misra
- Organizational Behavior by Robbins/Vohra
- Theories of Personality by Gardner Lindzey, John B. Campbell Calvin S. Hall
- Social Psychology by Robert A. Baron / Nyla R. Branscombe
- Applied Psychology by Julie Harrower, Tony Cassidy, Hugh Coolican, Orla, Rob Sharp, Jeremy, Tony Westbury, Katherine Simons
Agriculture:
- Question Bank: Seed Science and Technology by K Vanangamudi, K Vijayan, M Bhaskaran
- UPSC-IFS: Agriculture (Including Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide by B.B. Singh
- Agriculture for Competitive Examinations by B B Singh, DDG
- Objective Agriculture Science by RPH Editorial Board
- Handbook of Agriculture by Indian Council Of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- Agriculture Statistics: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India (http://agricoop.nic.in)
- The Hindu Newspaper: Survey Of Indian Agriculture
- NCERT science books
Political Science:
- Fifty Major Political Thinkers by Ian, R.W. Dyson
- Global Politics by Andrew Heywood
- Foundations of Indian Political Thought: An Interpretation – From Manu to the Present Day by V. R. Mehta
- Comparative Politics : Issues And Trends by GPH Panel of Experts
- Introduction to Political Theory by O P Gauba
- International Organisations by Spectrum Editorial Board
- Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) by M. K. Gandhi
Other Resources:
- Civil Services Chronicle
- The Hindu
- DD News
- Frontline
- Yojana
- Kurukshetra
- Indian express
- Economic and Political weekly-EPW
- For Science and Technology, check the sites www.sciencemag.org, www.nature.com, scitechdaily.com
- Science reporter
- Vigyan Pragti
- Geography and You
- Website of Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (censusindia.gov.in )
- For International relations refer World Focus, France 24, Ministry of External Affairs site (mea.gov.in )
Apart from reading a number of books, referring a lot of materials and magazines, and checking a number of websites, you also require a lot of practice. Click https://www.successlynk.com/exams/upsc-exams to get access to a number of practice tests. Take up these tests will actually prepare you well for the actual exams. Take performance report after each test, know your strengths and weaknesses and improvise. Revise well and face the next test and see the difference.
Let your hard work propel you to a speed so fast that Good Luck has no choice but to ride with a winner like you. All the best!
Posted in UPSC